Decorative candleholder



Oct. 31, 1950 c. R. CURTIS DECORATIVE CANDLE HOLDER Filed NOV. 10, 1947 Patented Oct. 31, 1950 DECORATIVE CAN DLEHOLDER Clarence R. Curtis, Lombard, Ill., assignor to F. H. Smith Manufacturing Company, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application November 10, 1947, Serial No. 784,988

2 Claims.

This invention relates to an improved candle holder, and particularly, to a candle holder susceptible to a plurality of mounting arrangements to permit the decorative effects thereof to be conveniently varied by the user.

The employment of candles for decorative purposes, particularly as a table decoration, is a timehonored custom of the American housewife. Even more time-honored is the custom of mounting a group of candles upon a birthday cake corresponding in number to the age of the recipient. It requires no extended demonstration to point out the disadvantages of the birthday candle holders which have heretofore been available. Such holders are generally suitablegfor only a single use and comprise a'rosette or similar decorative form having a central recess for receiving the candle plus an elongated pin which is inserted into the body of the cake to mount the candle holder. .After extinguishing the candles, the candle holders must he laboriously removed one by one from the cake, which process invariably involves anaccumulation of sticky, icing upon the fingers of the unfortunate person assigned to this task. Since such candle holders are generally not of washable construction, they are promptly thrown away, necessitating the purchase of an additional set the next time a birthday comes around.

A decorative candle, holder constructed in accordance with this invention is not only a reusable device, but a multi-use device. A plurality of candle holders embodying this invention may be mounted upon a unitary peripheral band and either supported on a cake'or around a cake in an unusually attractive and symmetrical decorative array. It, therefore, follows that all of the candle holders,.regardless of the number thereof, maybe concurrently removed from the cake by removal of the supporting band. Furthermore, the candle holders embodying this invention may be conveniently fabricated from metal, plastic, or other forms of washable material and the entire unit may be used again and again.

A decorative candle holder embodying this invention is .not limited inuseto birthday cakes. The. candle holders may be employed to spell out figures or letters, or form any other desired design and .be used as a table decoration independently of a cake. Such candle holders may be-used individually or in sets ofany desired number. Furthermore, the individual candle holders may be vertically stacked upon each other to prostantially change the decorativeefiect.

. Lastly, a candle holder embodying this invention is so designed as to permit it to accommodate any one of a plurality of sizes of candles, which feature is obviously of substantial value in effecting the transition of a candle holder from use on a birthday cake to use as a table centerpiece.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an improved candle holder characterized by its simplicity of construction, ease of manufacture, and adaptability to a plurality of decorative uses.

A further object of this invention is to provide a candle holder having a plurality of axially aligned bores of different diameters which will permit the candle holder to respectively accommodate any one of a plurality of sizes of candles.

Still another object of this invention is the provision of an improved asemblage of a plurality of candle holders wherein each of the individual a candle holders is provided with an axial slot which permits the candle holder to be selectively bores through the individual candle holders with respect to the width of the band-receiving slots therein to permit any one of the candle holders to function as a clamp to secure the ends of the supporting band together to achieve a peripheral configuration.

The specific nature of the invention as well as other objects and advantages thereof will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the annexed sheet of drawings which, by way of preferred example only, illustrate one specific embodiment of the instructure suitably shaped to define a letter of the alphabet.

Figure 4 is an enlarged scale, sectional view taken on the plane IVIV of Figure 2.

Figure 5 is a View similar to Figure 4 but illustrating a modified construction of the lateral projections on the ends of the supporting band.

Figure 6 is a partial elevational view of a band end of the type employed in the modification of Figure 5.

Figures 7 and 8 are respectively enlarged scale, vertical sectional views of an individual candle holder taken respectively on mutually perpendicular planes.

Figure 9 is an elevational view, partly in section, illustrating the manner of assembling a plurality of individual candle holders in a vertically stacked array.

Figure 10 is an enlarged scale sectional view of another modified form of supporting band.

As shown on the drawings:

Referring to the drawings, particularly to Figures 7 and 8, it will be observed that a candle holder IE3 embodying this invention is a hollow member, preferably concentrically formed about a vertical axis. The exterior of the candle holder is decoratively shaped and one axial end Illa of the exterior is of substantially smaller diameter than the opposite axial end illb. To permit the candle holder H! to accommodate any on'eo f a plurality of different sizes of candles, the bore thereof is formed as a plurality of axially aligned sections of different diameters. While inthe preferred example shown in the drawings, two such distinct bore sections are employed, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that any desired number of sections could be incorpained by; appropriate design of the candle holder. 'Thus, in the large end of the candle holder'llla large diameter bore section II is defined which is axially aligned and communicates with a smaller diameter bore section 12 which extends through the'smaller diameter end portion I 0d of the candle holder.

The candle holder unit Ill as thus far described may obviously be employed by itself to mount any one of a plurality of different size candles, For the smallsize candles, the holder may be employed as shown, or turned upside doiNnL To vary the decorative efiect, the small diameter exterior portion Ida is so proportioned relative to the large diameter bore opening ll so' tha't a plurality of identical candle holders may be stacked in a telescoped, vertical array in the manner indicated in Figure 9.

"To" permit the selective mounting of the candle holder H) in any desired position upon a supporting 'band, one end of the candle holder, preferably'the small diameter end lilo, is provided with an axially extending slot 3- which, of course communicates with the small diameter bore section l2. A mounting band i4 is then provided which may be of any desired shape according to the decorative effect desired. Thus, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, the mounting band may comprise a strip of resilient metal which is deformable into a circular configuration. Alternatively, as indicated in Figure'3, amounting band it may constitute a strip of metal shaped as a letter of the alphabet, or a numeral, or any other shape as desired by the user.

In any event, the width of the slot I3 is so proportioned. relative to the width of the supporting band i4 so that such band is readily insertablein the slot when the band is substantially straight. However, when the band is deformed into a nonlinear or arcuate configuration, there is not sufficient clearance in the slot [3 to freely accommodate such deformation of the band, and accordingly, a frictional engagement between the band l4 and the walls of slot I3 is produced which has the effect of snugly anchoring the candle'holder it on the band l l; Thus, any number of candle holders it may be mounted upon a supporting band it at any desired location.

While the supporting band I4 may obviously constitute an integral ring, it is preferably formed by bending of an elongated strip of flexible material and securing the juxtaposed ends of the strip together. A candle holder constructed in accordance with this invention may be conveniently utilized as the securing clamp for the ends of the band. In the modification illustrated in Figure 4, juxtaposed ends Ma and [4b of the band 14 are bent laterally out of the general plane of the remainder of the band. The width of the axial slot I3 in the candle holder I0 is, of course, sufficiently limited so that such slot will not accommodate the laterally projecting end portions Ma and Mb. However, the bore section 52, with which the slot [3 communicates, is proportioned so as to accommodate both of the laterally projecting end portions Ma and Mb. Hence, the candle holder may be slipped over the juxtaposed ends of the band 14 and a tight securement of the ends of the band will be. produced which will maintain the band M. in a desired peripheral configuration. Upon removal of the candle holder ID from the juxtaposed ends of the band 14, the band [4 will of itself straighten out into strip-like form or, if not resilient, may be bent into strip form so that the band may be conveniently stored away until the time of the next use.

Of course, if the band is resilient and prestres'sed to assume a coil shape of smaller diameter than that obtained when the ends. are secured together, the release of the ends will permit the band to return to its smaller diameter coiled configuration.

1 In Figures 5-and 6; a modified band structureis.

illustrated for effecting the securement of the juxtaposed ends. In this modification, each of the ends of the band is deformed. to .provide an.

thejuxtaposed ends of the band [4 inthe. same. manner asheretoforeoutlined and the hubs, l5;

eifect the tight securement of the ends of the band: Ill-within the particular candle holder.

When a desirednumber of candle holders. H]

are arranged upon a supporting band in the desired spaced relationship, a candle l6 isthen inserted into each of, the candle holders in the.

manner illustrated in Figure Zand, of course, any oneof-a plurality of sizes of candles may beemployed according to thesizes of the. plurality of.

boresections provided in the candle holdersv 10. In the case of. the. ring-like arrangement of Figures. 1. and 2, it is apparent that the. entire.

ringlmaybe supported onthe top of a cake or in. surrounding. relationship to the. sides of. a. cake, andthus provide a birthday candle. display. Both the ring ar-.

of unequalled attractiveness. rangement of Figures 1 and 2, thealphabet arrangement of: Figure 3, or any. other desired configuration ofthe supporting band or arrange-.

ment of candles thereon may obviously beused independently of a birthday cake as a table centerpiece.

- When employing a mounting band having linear portions, such asthe band i4, itmay be desirable to form such band-with a non-linear cross section, such as the arcuate cross-section band 24 shown in Figure 10. The width of such 5 cross-section is proportioned to snugly fit within the slot l3 of the candle holder so that such slot tends to resiliently transversely stress the band 24, thereby insuring a snug engagement of the candle holder thereon.

From the foregoing description, it is believed obvious that candle holders constructed in accordance with this invention provide more convenient usage of candles in decorative effects and a greater flexibility in such use than any constructions heretofore known. Furthermore, such candle holders being of axially concentric configuration may be readily manufactured by automatic machinery methods.

It will, of course, be understood that various details of construction may be modified through a wide range without departing from the principles of this invention and it is, therefore, not the purpose to limit the patent granted hereon otherwise than necessitated by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A decorative device comprising an elongated band of resilient material deformable into circular configuration, each end of said band having a lateral extension formed thereon, a candle holder having an open ended bore therethrough and a pair of slots in the walls of said bore, said slots being proportioned to receive the normal width portions of said band in inserted relationship but not said lateral extension, and said bore being proportioned to concurrently receive both of said lateral extensions therein, whereby said candle holder may be slipped over the juxtaposed ends of said band to retain said band in circular configuration.

2. In a decorative device including an elongated band of resilient material deformable into a curved configuration, a candle holder for positioning upon said band comprising a body portion having an axial recess formed in one end for receiving a candle and an aligned open ended bore extending axially therethrough, a pair of slots in the walls of said body defining said bore to form rigid spaced flanges integral with said body portion, the slots forming said flanges being of a width corresponding to the thickness of said band for receiving a portion of the band therein when said band is substantially straight, that portion of the band within the slots engaging opposing sides of said slots at separated points when the band is deformed from its substantially straight configuration to create a transversed stressing of the confined portion of the band and to retain said candle holder on said band with its removal therefrom being facilitated by straightening of said band.

CLARENCE R. CURTIS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 227,693 Kiesele May 18, 1880 474,768 Young May 10, 1892 1,054,296 Jacobson Feb. 25, 1913 1,439,243 Hughes et a1. Dec. 19, 1922 1,480,941 Le Tang Jan. 15, 1924 1,750,171 Goldstone Mar. 11, 1930 2,213,203 Buchman Sept. 3, 1940 2,299,733 Benander Oct. 27, 1942 2,414,866 Glaser Jan. 28, 1947 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 211,583 Germany July 7, 1909 

